County 4-H Program Endowments
An endowment is a fund that is held permanently. The corpus of the fund is invested and held intact, and the earning from the fund are used to support 4-H programs.
Named County 4-H Endowments
Donors who want to make a sustained investment in the county 4-H program where they were a 4-H member or volunteer, can do so with the creation of a named county endowment fund. The Michigan 4-H Foundation annually grants proceeds from county endowed funds to a county 4-H program to support 4-H youth participant fee scholarships; youth out-of-county event scholarships, 4-H youth recognition; 4-H volunteer training scholarships or simply to assist with the annual cost of program delivery in a county. Learn more about endowment basics.
General County 4-H Endowments
General county 4-H endowment funds are not named in a donor’s name and provide annual support for local program delivery, development of new programs and learning materials, or any future areas of greatest need to advance the county program. New funds may be established for counties that do not have an existing endowment. Learn more about endowment basics.
Counties with existing general 4-H endowments are: Allegan, Arenac, Barry, Branch, Calhoun, Chippewa, Clare, Clinton, Eaton, Grand Traverse, Gratiot, Hillsdale, Houghton-Keweenaw, Ingham, Ionia, Iosco, Isabella, Kalkaska, Kent, Lapeer, Lenawee, Macomb, Mason, Midland, Montcalm, Muskegon, Oakland, Ogemaw, Osceola, Ottawa, Sanilac, Shiawassee, St. Clair, St. Joseph, Washtenaw and Wayne.
A majority of the county endowment funds were established and/or grown through the Make the Match County Endowment Match Campaign from 2013-2019. Thanks to an investment from match pool donors, a 1:1 match was provided for each county endowment, up to $50,000. Leadership match pool donors were: The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation, The Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation, Gary and Eiko Seevers and the Seevers Family Foundation, Lana Dart, Noel and Sandra Stuckman, Arlon and Shirley Elser, Donald and Rebecca Jost, Dale and Sara Stuby, Wayne and Faye Adam, Larry and Julie Chapin, Thomas and Rhonda Coon, and Lowell and Marilyn Rothert.
Additional gifts are welcome to grow these funds.
For more information about Michigan 4-H Foundation endowments, email info@mi4hfdn.org or call 517-353.6692.